Friday, October 31, 2014

What can we do this Weekend in Calgary

It has been a fun ride leading up to the
big night of Halloween. There were pumpkin patches to visit, scares from a wide
variety of venues, plays, special events at many of the family oriented parks
and attractions around town and of course plenty of time to come up with that
perfect costume for trick or treating.

Now November is upon us and it is a more
sombre month as we remember the men and women who lost their lives to give us
the freedoms we enjoy today. This Remembrance Day and indeed November will be
extra important as we also remember the tragedy that took place in Ottawa just
last month. With that in mind, this ‘what to do in Calgary’ post has a couple
of things to take in that have a more muted tone, but there is always plenty of
fun to be had as a family in the city too.

We will start with the family friendly
Weekend at the Museum, happing this Saturday and Sunday at the Glenbow Museum.
Admission is just $32 for the whole family, and includes two adults and up to
four children. This weekend’s events center on everything cold (quite fitting
when you think winter is mere weeks away) from creating art featuring arctic
animals to taking in polar animal facts at the touch table to freezing things
we see and use every day using dry ice. The weekend is put on by the Glenbow
Museum as well as the Calgary Zoo and the scientists at TELUS Spark so all
activities are safe and led by the experts on hand. Kids will like to test
their skills at Tip of the Iceberg a hands on activity that explores how
icebergs behave and what they look like besides what you can see on the
surface, and even the littlest ones will enjoy hearing about the many arctic
animals we share the planet with. There are also First Nations Gallery Tours to
take part in and plenty of other things to do as a family. The museum is
located at 130 9th Avenue in the SE, right in the heart of downtown.

November is a month for remembrance so why
not take in a play or two to see the inspiring stories unfold for yourself?
Jake’s Gift is being put on by the Lunch Box Theatre and runs now through
November 22. It is the story of a Canadian World War II veteran who goes back
to Normandy for the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. Who he
meets there leads to the story of how he conquers his demons and comes to terms
with what happened to him and his comrades in those fateful days. Tickets are
$20 and $25 and shows run Monday-Saturday at 12:10pm with extra performances on
Thursdays and Fridays starting at 6:10pm.

Liberation Days is another play that
focusses on the Second World War, only this time the story is set in the war
and explores the liberation of the Netherlands by the Canadian troops, freeing
them from the domineering Germans. The central characters are a Dutch woman and
a Canadian soldier who try to live their lives amid the liberation and beyond.
This play is by a local playwright and is billed as an inspiring World War Two
drama that is a sweeping saga of love and perseverance. Liberation Days runs
through November 9th at the Max Bell Theatre at EPCOR Center.
Tickets are from $35-$125 and can be purchased in advance online.

Still running through the end of November
are the Calgary Ghost Tours and lectures about the spooky places in the city,
for those of you who aren’t quite ready to give up on the Halloween fun just
yet. Information on them can be found online at www.calgaryghosttours.com/events,
cost is $15 for adults for the walks that take place in the downtown,
Inglewood, Kensington, Beltline and other communities around town. And there is
still time to get to that pumpkin patch or corn maze before the season ends.